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involvementClaxton Participates In English ClubsDr. Michael Claxton, assistant professor ofEnglish, arrived on Harding’s campus inthe fall of 2003, straight out of his doctoralprogram at The University of North Carolina atChapel Hill and eager to teach.“The only thing I knew about Harding was thatit was a long way from Georgia,” Claxton said.Not long after his arrival, Harding alumni TimNance, a 2005 graduate, and Andrea Zahler, a 2004graduate, approached Claxton with the prospectof chartering a poetry club on campus. Thesethree poetry buffs created Souvenirs.Souvenirs was a more rowdy group than somethought. The weekly meetings in the Honors Housewere crammed with students quothing the ravenand making wisecracks about Beowulf.“I’ve been deputized by Dr. [Jeff] Hopper tokeep the chaos at a low roar,” Claxton said.Claxton was surprised that a “non-requiredpoetry event” had met for so long.“The fact that we’re still alive five or six yearslater really impresses me,” Claxton said. “We’vehad this succession of really enthusiastic poetryfans. It’s kept this club going.”While not for everyone, the audience thatattended the meetings every Thursday nightwas diverse.“It’s not limited to English majors,” Claxtonsaid. “We have art majors. We have nursingmajors. We have people from [the] foreignlanguage [department] – from all different typesof disciplines.”Claxton said Souvenirs often escaped the HonorsHouse for a day trip to an area used bookstore.They also threw Christmas parties in the winterand hosted cookouts in the spring.Claxton also spearheaded the English honorsociety Sigma Tau Delta. Club meetings wererare, but the group traveled once a year to TheRep Theater in Little Rock. Last winter theyorganized a used textbook drive through BetterWorld Books to benefit Invisible Children Inc.,a non-profit organization that assisted childrenand others coping with the civil war in northernUganda.“I think it’s important for students to be involvedin societies and groups that connect themwith other professionals in their field of study,”junior Jordan Bailey said. “I think [Dr. Claxton]does a really good job of being an overseer andkeeping things organized.”As the sponsor, Claxton was responsiblefor reciting an annual top-ten list at the Englishdepartment’s fall literary festival. Recent lists includedthe ten worst topics for senior symposia and theten worst English major pick-up lines.While Claxton was passionate about theEnglish department, he admitted that the Hardingbasketball teams threatened his allegiance tohis more literary leanings. He often attended thegirl’s game, raced over to the Honors House forSouvenirs and then returned to the Rhodes forthe second half of the boy’s game.“It’s a good time,” Claxton said. “The RhodesField House is a lot of fun.”Between poetry, book drives and basketballgames, Claxton found his niche.Nick MichaelSenior Jessica Briggs plays themoon in the Souvenirs performanceat the Literary Festival on Sept. 11, inCone Chapel. The group performedthe Pyramus and Thisbe play fromShakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’sDream’. Nick MichaelSigma Tau DeltaSouvenirsRow 1: J. Bailey, M. Smith, C. Mannen, E. Williams. Row 2: J. Maris, H. Pruitt, J. Benskin. Row 3: C.Damron, E. Daw. Row 4: K. Jackson, C. Neil, M. Claxton (Sponsor), C. McKeever.Row 1: A. Stilwell, R. Rupel, J. Roosevelt, K. Cross. Row 2: S. McSwain, K. Curtis, E. Daw, J. Benskin, J.Roper. Row 3: K. Cameron, V. Wagner, K. Cavender, L. Jones, N. Boone, L. Jones.literature 221